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Q&A
DCLA funding allocation for Brooklyn Museum
0:14:07
ยท
159 sec
Council Member De La Rosa inquires about the allocation of DCLA funding to the Brooklyn Museum for FY2025. Commissioner Cumbo explains that the total funding of $10,574,000 includes city council member items and an energy subsidy. She details that:
- The subsidy supports mainly DC37 positions, covering security, maintenance, and collections care.
- It also covers some education and program staff not in DC37.
- The city subsidy only covers about 20% of the museum's entire operation.
- The subsidy primarily covers base salaries, with the museum responsible for additional costs.
- The exact percentage of funding that supports staffing costs was not immediately available, but it was indicated to be a significant portion.
- The commissioner promised to provide more precise figures later in the hearing.
Carmen N. De La Rosa
0:14:07
But I wanted to talk a little bit about the the funding.
0:14:11
So as of f y twenty five adopted budget, DCLA and the city council allocated about 10,100,000.0 in expense funds to the Brooklyn Museum.
0:14:22
Each of the 34 members of the cultural institutions group have separate contracts with DCLA outlining the specific use of funding.
0:14:31
Can you provide a breakdown of how the Brooklyn Museum allocated the funding for the DCLA funding for FY '25?
0:14:38
And what portion of that was used for operations, infrastructure, programming, or other specific expenses?
Laurie Cumbo
0:14:44
Okay.
0:14:45
I just wanna start off by giving a special note before I get into the bulk of the question.
0:14:51
The 10,574,000.000 includes 75,000 from city council member items and an additional $1,986.000323 in energy subsidy.
0:15:05
The city subsidy supports the majority of the DC Thirty Seven positions.
0:15:11
Currently, 153, but will be reduced down to a 34 with the pending layoffs.
0:15:18
The DC thirty seven covered positions are chiefly security, maintenance, collections care.
0:15:25
The subsidy also covers education and other program staff, not DC thirty seven.
0:15:31
Important to note is the city subsidy covers only the base salary of the DC thirty seven positions with the museum responsible for the balance of fringe and the contractual premium wage rates over time, etcetera.
0:15:46
I just wanna add also that our subsidy to the Brooklyn Museum only covers about 20% of the entire operation of the museum.
0:15:57
Mhmm.
0:15:57
So 20% is typically what government provides support for, but the other 80% comes through foundations, corporations, individual giving, admissions, fundraising, programming, and other programs.
Elizabeth St. George
0:16:11
So
Carmen N. De La Rosa
0:16:11
what percentage will you say directly or indirectly supports the staffing costs?
Laurie Cumbo
0:16:18
This what is the direct number?
0:16:20
The percentage that covers the the DC thirty seven staffing out of the subsidy that we give?
Carmen N. De La Rosa
0:16:28
Yes.
0:16:28
Correct.
Laurie Cumbo
0:16:30
Essentially, all
Lance Polivy
0:16:31
of it.
Carmen N. De La Rosa
0:16:32
Okay.
0:16:33
70%, eighty %.
0:16:35
Do you have an idea?
0:16:38
I'll get
Laurie Cumbo
0:16:38
you the exact number during the course of this hearing, but in the in the interest of time, if you have another question, we'll come right back to that one.
Carmen N. De La Rosa
0:16:46
Are there any restrictions or guidelines within the Brooklyn Museum's contract about how expense fund the can be used for staffing?